New Delhi: The decision was taken at a meeting of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of 40 farmer unions protesting at various Delhi border points against three farm laws.
Addressing a press conference, farmer leaders made it clear that the modalities for the repeal of three farm laws and guarantee for MSP — minimum support price at which the government procures crops from farmers — should be part of the agenda for resuming talks with the government. The unions, however, also decided to intensify their agitation as they gave a call to hold a tractor march from Singhu Border and Tikri Border to the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) highway on December 30. They also asked people from Delhi and other parts of the country to join them at the protest sites for New Year celebrations.
In a letter to Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Vivek Aggarwal, the Morcha said, ”We propose that the next meeting between the farmers’ representatives and the Government of India be held on December 29, 2020, at 11 am.” ”As the government is willing to hold talks with us and asking us for date and our issues, we have proposed to hold dialogue on December 29. Now, the ball is in the court of government when it calls us for talks,” Bhartiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait told PTI. According to the letter, the agenda proposed by the protesting unions includes amendments to be made and notified in the Commission for the Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, 2020 to exclude farmers from its penal provisions.
The farmer unions also demanded that changes in the draft Electricity Amendment Bill 2020 to protect the interests of farmers should also be part of the agenda for the next round of dialogue. There was no immediate response from the government to the agenda proposed by the farmer unions for talks. An official said that the government is ready for amendments, but maintained that there is no question of repealing the three farm laws.
